


Culinary Rivalry

by WaterlilyRose



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Chefs, Cooking Rivalry, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Making Dinner For Each Other, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 15:56:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13298241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaterlilyRose/pseuds/WaterlilyRose
Summary: It shouldn’t have bothered her; it really shouldn’t have.Rey was used to receiving criticism. She’d had ample experience of it her entire life. Even her parents had rejected her by leaving her on the steps of the local fire-station when she wasn’t even old enough to toddle. People were sadly more prone to criticise than anything else in the world.When Rey gets a scathing review from cooking royalty Kylo Ren, she ritaliates as only she could. Soon a compromise is made: They need to endure dinner together.





	Culinary Rivalry

**Author's Note:**

> If you are wondering if you have seen this before, you have. I've deleted Compilation as the set up wasn't really working for me and gonna post the prompts on here that I have written (won't be hard - I only did five).

It shouldn’t have bothered her; it really shouldn’t have.

Rey was used to receiving criticism. She’d had ample experience of it her entire life. Even her parents had rejected her by leaving her on the steps of the local fire-station when she wasn’t even old enough to toddle. People were sadly more prone to criticise than anything else in the world.

Newspapers made little digs, Instagram would sometimes attract naysayers when she displayed a creation and she hadn’t checked her Twitter account for a long time so to avoid getting utterly depressed about people slagging off her culinary exploits or stooping low enough to comment on how a woman who dealt with carbs as much as she did could possess such tiny boobs (like seriously, what did her cleavage have to do with her cooking? She wasn’t trying to be the new Nigella Lawson!)

But when her flatmate Finn came storming in clutching a magazine and declaring “What a pretentious arsehole!”, she never anticipated how much she would agree.

It was a glamorous magazine and the photo-shoot was of a tall, dark haired man who seemed to have underdeveloped facial muscles due to his inability to smile for the camera. Rey recognised him immediately. Everyone in the culinary world and even out of it knew of this guy. He was part of culinary royalty.

His restaurant in London wasn’t too far from her little apartment but she knew that it was impossible to get into without booking at least eighteen months in advance (Finn, Poe, Rose and her had got drunk once and tried to ring for a giggle; the Maitre’D put the phone down on her after she slurred the place name). He was a judge on Masterchef and was considered the Simon Cowell of the cooking world… as very little made him happy.

Patronage of Snoke and son of Leia Organa-Solo: Kylo Ren.

It took a few scans of the article of to see the problem -

 

_**_You are one of the biggest names in the restaurant industry. How does it feel to have people with no culinary training coming into the limelight?_ ** _

__(Ren snorts) I’m not exactly scared. These kids are merely playing with food; they’re not exactly creating masterpieces. Like that girl… what’s her name? Nyla? (I point out that he might mean Rey Niima)Yeah, whatever. I mean, it’s nice that she doesn’t just shove a pasty in the oven I guess. But don’t take a few pictures with filters on your food and make out as though you’ve rediscovered the wheel._ _

 

Rey lowered the magazine and didn’t even notice Finn’s offers to burn down Ren’s restaurant. Cold numbing disbelief was flooding through her.

How… dare he?!

Rey had always respected the Skywalker family. She’d watched Luke Skywalker’s old tutorials on YouTube (before he became a recluse that is) and had always tuned into Leia Organa-Solo’s Christmas specials (no-one could make a more alcoholic Christmas pudding) so this felt like a kick in the stomach. She’d always respected him by default. She’d watched his shows with a glass of wine and had even thought that he was pretty handsome. The scowling kinda helped if she was being truthful. But now she felt only anger.

Who was he to talk down about her cooking? No, she hadn’t been to culinary school and no, she didn’t charge thirty quid for a square of duck breast and a dribble of gravy around the side. Her portions were big and filling. They were meant to feed her and isn’t that the whole point? And she never used filters for her food! That was as good as accusing her of just making canned food!

Rey had a large glass of rose and grinned. She had an interview tomorrow herself. Maybe she’d have some criticism of her own…

xxx

It had gotten big pretty quick. Her agent Poe wasn’t exactly sure whether to be annoyed or pleased. It was publicity after all.

Her interview for  _ _Good Housekeeping__ had been great fun. What girl didn’t like having her hair and make-up done? And as luck would have it, the question was raised in the interview without her help.

_**_You’ve recently been on the receiving end of criticism from Kylo Ren. Have such scathing words been a bit of a low blow for you?_ ** _

Rey tossed her blow-dried hair in a nonchalant way and smiled. She had her answer.

__Well, it’s a bit mean but he’s made his career from being mean, hasn’t he? I suppose that it takes attention away from his own cooking, so…_ _

She let herself tail off and smiled at the journalist who looked a little surprised but clearly delighted. It was the definition of a scoop.

Rey hadn’t anticipated how big a deal it would be. Poe was more than happy to enlighten her.

“You’re the girl next door. The one who came from nothing and made a name for herself. Just from using her skills and a prowess. Kylo Ren was born into it and whether he would agree or not, had a silver spoon in his mouth since birth. People like the underdog.”

Rey had felt oddly resentful of this. She wasn’t some damsel in distress. But she was in talks with joining a judging panel in a baking contest on television. It would throw the doors open to her beyond her YouTube channels getting over a million hits a video. She was getting sponsorships coming out of her ears and people seemed to respect what she could do. Not to mention they now seemed willing to pay a small fortune to have her bake them a pie.

So it was with some amazement that Poe handed her an envelope.

“This came today: it’s from Kylo Ren’s office.”

Rey looked at it as though it was about to explode and start screaming at her. She doubted that Kylo Ren had the ability to conjure up a Howler even with all his money. Slowly she opened it.

It was an invitation. To his restaurant.

“What is this?”

“I suppose its his way of proving that he can cook.” Poe shrugged.

“Oh really?” Rey sniffed. “Then what makes him think I will accept.”

“He’s always been a bit arrogant.”

Rey looked at the invitation. 9.00pm on Friday night. A part of her wanted to ball it up and throw it in the waste-paper bin. And yet…

“Can I bring a guest?” She asked.

“It doesn’t say you get a plus one.”

“I don’t think going alone is wise into enemy territory.”

Poe laughed. “Rey, you’re not going into battle. Its one of the most popular restaurants in London. There will be witnesses.”

Rey didn’t feel very comforted.

She still wasn’t sure whether to accept the invitation at 7.00pm on Friday night. She was still in her Gryffindor pyjamas and her hair was in a top knot. Besides, there was bound to be a season of Hell’s Kitchen she hadn’t watched.

It was half past seven when she turned off the television and ran into the bathroom to grab a shower. What the hell? It was a free meal and she was keen to meet the cocky little shit.

She only had one very nice dress. It was black and tastefully low cut. She never felt anything less than a millionaire when she wore it. Drying her hair to hang low and slipping on her best heels and silver pendant that Finn had given her for her 21st birthday, she scrutinized herself. She played with a little bit of eye make up and added red lipstick. It complimented her teeth which were one of her best features.

Her confidence began to ebb a little when she took a cab to West London. Was this a mistake? Was it a joke? His idea of revenge? Leaving her standing outside dolled up and shivering may seem to him a clever joke.

Yet as soon as she pulled up, the lady with the clipboard waved her in straight away. “Go to the bar. The Maitre’D will seat you.”

The restaurant was dimly lit and the very carpet she walked on probably cost more than her flat was worth. It was made of black and silver furnishings.

She was barely at the bar for ten seconds when a very severe looking, red-haired man came striding up to her.

“Rey Niima?” It wasn’t so much a question as an accusation.

“Y-Yes?”

“I’m the Maitre’D, Armitage Hux. Follow me.” He was off before she had a chance to blink.

The table he seated her at was situated with a view of the kitchen and of the rest of the restaurant. It also left her feeling rather exposed. Hux returned with a bottle of wine.

“Oh, I didn’t-”

“Compliments of the house.” He didn’t make it sound like a compliment. It sounded like he wanted to tip it over her head.

“Oh, thank you.” She answered sounding more timid than she would like. It looked rather old but she doubted that meant it would be anything but the best.

She gave her order of scallops, steak mid rare and a chocolate fondant pudding. A part of her wanted to know whether they did sides like onions rings. But one look at the rather severe looking waitress (one of the tallest women she’d ever seen in her life actually) made the question die away.

It was a busy night and she could feel a lot of eyes on her. Some people she could even recognise herself. West London was a hive for the rich and quite famous; did she qualify as one of those now? No, surely not.

She must look a complete hypocrite, sitting here alone waiting for food. Maybe she could sneak out now? She doubted that her presence would be missed.

But then her scallops arrived and she doubted that she would ever get food like this again. So she picked up her knife.

They were… delicious. Every mouthful was heaven and she felt a sinking feeling with each one. There wasn’t much on the plate and it looked a bit like a Blue Peter project with all its fancy design but badly cooked it certainly wasn’t. Kylo Ren could cook. Or his staff could at any rate.

The steak wasn’t long in following and she was halfway through when a voice spoke above her.

“I hope the portion isn’t detrimental to the taste.”

Rey looked up. Standing there, white chef’s jacket contrasting starkly with his black hair and eyes, was the man himself. Rey swallowed her mouthful rather hard.

“It will suffice.” Her cheeks felt a bit hot from the wine and the moment. With her seated, he towered over her and she suspected even in her heels she wouldn’t come up further than his collarbone. Up close and away from the television, he was just as distinctive looking. Indeed, he was very handsome. His nose was regal and his mouth was lush and pouty. It was quirked into an amused smirk at her words.

“Glad you approve.” He pulled out the seat opposite her and sat himself down without waiting for an invite. “You seemed rather dismissive of it before.”

“Seemed only fair.” Rey commented, stabbing her meat rather hard, “You did accuse me of editing my photos.”

“I’m sure that was only meant in jest-”

“Well, I didn’t take it as such!” Rey interrupted. “You know, I would never have said those things if you hadn’t been so cruel. This happens to be my livelihood too and I get enough crap without one of the most famous chefs shitting on me.”

Kylo Ren sat silent for a moment. Rey guessed that this was not a man who got told the truth a lot.

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t very fair.” Kylo said quietly. “But I was hoping this would serve as an apology.”

An apology? Wasn’t this meant to rub in how much better he was at cooking than her?

“I… I didn’t...” Rey couldn’t finish.

“You think I just hand over a four hundred pound bottle of wine to anyone?”

Rey dropped her fork. “Four hundred pounds?!” She squeaked. That was her rent for the month!

“I was sure Hux would have mentioned it.”

“No, he didn’t.”

Kylo stared at her. All of her. He wasn’t obvious in her scrutiny but she could feel his eyes sweeping over her face, her hair and her body. His eyes didn’t seem unappreciative of what he saw. Rey stamped down the little flicker of delight that such a powerful man wouldn’t find her hideous. She wasn’t like one of those meals that he served with such flare.

They made polite, rather tense conversation while her chocolate fondant was served. But when she stood to make her excuses and thank him for the food, he stood too.

“How are you getting home?”

“Um, taxi cab I suppose.”

“I can hail you one if you-”

“No, really that’s fine thank you.” Rey felt a little flustered. His eyes were still burning. “You know, I’m a very good cook.”

“I can’t say I do.” Kylo quipped. “I’ve never had the pleasure of trying your cooking.”

Rey looked at him and then got out a pen from her bag. She grabbed his hand before he knew what was happening.

“What-”

“This is my number. Pick a day that works for you and you can have a proper meal. It won’t consist of a quarter of the plate I promise.”

Then before he could answer, she strode out of the restaurant. If she put on a little wiggle in her walk for his benefit… well, she’d never admit it.

* * *

 

He was coming around at seven o’clock that night. Rey had cleaned her little flat within an inch of its life, plumped all the cushions and baked her best chicken casserole. There was a prawn cocktail in the fridge and she’d made a raspberry cheesecake. She refused to make a song and dance out of the presentation; substance over presentation.

The wine she had purchased was definitely not worth four hundred pounds but it tasted sweet and was over ten percent alcohol content. What more could he want?

Rey wondered briefly about whether she was making a mistake. Was this really a good idea? Inviting this man to sample her home cooking? At her flat? Alone?

Well, she hadn’t cooked this much food just for herself.

The knock at her door came almost too soon. She opened the door cautiously.

Everything about him clashed with him. Dressed in a crisp navy shirt and black trousers, he looked like he was about to go up town for a drink. Her own patched jeans and yellow blouse were looking pretty shoddy right now.

“Found the place okay?” She asked timidly as he stepped over the threshold.

“It’s in a respectable area. So yeah, no problem.” He handed her the bottle of wine he’d bought with him. Another £400 one. She doubted she would ever drink it while watching Once Upon A Time. It seemed the sort of thing you christened a cruise liner with.

Rey served him the prawn cocktail at her scrubbed wood table. It probably had more calories than the entire menu at his restaurant. He didn’t seem to be forcing it down at any rate.

“So what got you into cooking?” He asked, as he was halfway through his starter.

“Number of things really. Making the best of basic ingredients was a means of survival when I was young. We didn’t have much.”

“You were in care?” It was a question but most people knew her history. One of the downsides of living in the public eye.

“Yes.” She kept her eyes on her cocktail. “I don’t know who my family is. I doubt I ever will.”

“I’m-”

“Don’t say you’re sorry.” She cut off. “I’m not to be pitied.”

“I doubt you’d let me if I tried.” Kylo amended.

Rey gave a weak little smile. “Yeah, well, flour, eggs, sugar and anything we could wrestle from the cupboards became invaluable. I had to make use of them. Or starve. In the end, I got pretty good at it. I created things. And I made a living from creating.”

Rey served the chicken casserole and poured some wine. Kylo seemed a bit dubious of the wine but drank without complaint. He also ate without saying a single word. Rey had learnt that when someone was quiet between mouthfuls that was rarely a bad sign.

By the time the plates were cleared and the wine was down to the dregs, Kylo had a bit of colour in his cheeks.

He even deigned to chuckle once or twice. He had a nice smile and slightly uneven teeth. They seemed to almost enhance his features.

“You should have a decent meal more often.” Rey chuckled also feeling less conscious thanks to the wine.

“I guess so. Never had a home cooked one as a kid.”

Rey looked at him a little taken aback.

“Your family-”

“My family were too busy making their television shows and earning Michelin stars to worry about whether I got a home-cooked meal. The housekeeper normally just made me toast or a sandwich.”

Rey poured him more wine and helped herself to some more too.

An hour then turned to two and suddenly it was ten o’clock. They were sat on her threadbare sofa and he was quite close. Close enough that their sides were touching. The wine bottle was now empty.

“Why were you mean about my cooking?” Rey asked. “You never said.”

Kylo shrugged. “I guess I was a bit jealous.”

“Jealous?”

“Those meals… I would have killed for them as a kid. I felt… a bit threatened.”

“You’re one of the best chefs in the world!”

“Yeah, yeah(!)”

“You are!” Rey seized his shirt and was tempted to shake him. Kylo looked down at her hands and then back up at her.

It seemed the most natural thing in the world to kiss him.

* * *

 

Her bed was full of knitted quilts and odd pillows. All of which cushioned their fall as they tumbled onto the bed in tangle of limbs, refusing to break their lip-lock.

It felt delicious to feel a hot blooded male rubbing against places that had experienced no attention for so long. Her blouse lost most of their buttons in Kylo’s haste to get it off. He seemed to have no issue with the size of her breasts at all. Her mismatched underwear seemed to make him as excited as though she were sporting the latest Victoria’s Secret range.

Kissing and nibbling any skin they could get hold of, Rey could only gape as Kylo’s torso came into view with him ripping off his shirt. Yet the objective of getting him out of his pants soon became desperate.

Soon they were nude and the ache in Rey’s pussy became too desperate to ignore.

“In me.” Rey gasped. “Put it in me. Now!

The feel of him seething himself inside her had them both arching in unison.

There was nothing co-ordinated about their romp. It was all desperate thrusts, scratches and mewls of ecstasy. Neither of them wanted it any other way. Rey clung to the muscles beneath his soft skin and let her body do what it clearly needed.

A part of her was feeling rebellious and still didn’t want Kylo to have the upper hand. He was clearly shocked when she flipped him onto his back but clearly had no complaints when she bounced herself vigorously on his cock. His hands cupped her bouncing tits in reverence as she ground and gyrated towards her climax. It was normally really hard for her to orgasm during sex (not that she’d tried for a while) so her shriek was of surprise as well as pleasure when the tingling wave overtook her. She let Kylo move her body up and down his shaft to finish himself off and she collapsed sweaty skinned onto his chest. Everything was sticky and she loved it.

Rey was too satisfied and drowsy to give a shit about feeling awkward or embarrassed about what they’d just done when Kylo spoke.

“I take it you’ve forgiven me for being rude.” Kylo said a little breathless.

“You can make it up to me a few more times.” Rey smiled with her head rested against Kylo’s chest. “Then you can make me breakfast. Those cooking skills can see if you’re as good with eggs as with veal chop.”

**Author's Note:**

> I love cooking shows so I had a lot of fun with this!


End file.
